Alexander Cuenca
Biographic Data
| ID | 1604753 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexander Cuenca |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexander |
| FAMILY NAME | Cuenca |
| SIGNATURE | CUENCA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indiana University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5450-5499 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 42 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Revisiting United States v. South Carolina
This study examines how the legal arguments in United States v. South Carolina (1978) established a “rational relationship” between teaching and validated teacher licensure exams. Findings reveal that these arguments promoted racial objectivity, masked arbitrary decisions as rigorous, and reframed teacher education programs as workforce development. These precedents have perpetuated the commonsense that licensure exams are essential for ensuring …
Social studies education research for sustainable democratic societies
Social studies education and research can and must play a central role in sustaining democratic societies. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of this vital journal that aims to strengthen social studies education, democratic societies face numerous serious challenges. Although today’s circumstances are unique, many of our current challenges have existed (and will continue to exist) in some form throughout the history of democracy. In this art…
The rise and fall of Missouri’s performance assessment of student teachers
This article examines the adoption and abandonment of the Missouri Pre-Service Teacher Assessment (MoPTA). Our analysis draws on policy network theory to argue that the divergent rationales of Missouri’s primary teacher education policy network actors led to confusion, conflict, and disagreement, which contributed to the abandonment of the MoPTA as a policy prescription. Charting the rise and fall of Missouri’s high-stakes performance assessment …
Proposing Core Practices for Social Studies Teacher Education
As states, school districts, and teachers continue to adopt the inquiry-based principles of the College, Career, and Civic (C3) Framework, social studies teacher education must engage in a concomitant instructional shift to focus its efforts on preparing inquiry-based educators. One possible approach is to organize social studies teacher education around core practices. In this study, I attempt to surface the core practices found in social studie…
A turn to practice
There is growing momentum in teacher education to organize the preparation of teachers around “core practices.” Advocates call for identifying discipline-oriented, research-based teaching moves associated with student learning and then shifting teacher education pedagogies and programs toward preparing beginning teachers to implement these moves in classroom and school settings. This study examines core practices as a recent reform impulse in tea…
Reforming the idea of social studies teacher education
Reforming the idea of social studies teacher education often stands in sharp contrast to reforming the complex landscape where it takes place. Approaching social studies teacher education reform as
The museum internship as an analogous learning space for preservice teacher education
Framing Teacher Education
This article explores the nature of a federal intervention into teacher education through state policy making and problem framing. The authors examined the 16 comprehensive educator equity plans that were approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and surface four inadequacies the reports communicate about teacher education: (a) an inability to recruit diverse candidates, (b) an unsuitable curriculum for high-needs schools, (c) limited …
Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century
Creating a “third space” in student teaching
Democratic Means for Democratic Ends
In light of the common mission of social studies education to prepare future democratic citizens, the field continues to be rooted in didactic and monologic practices. Finding an alibi in the current accountability movement that favors teaching about democracy instead of teaching through democracy, many social studies teachers have reneged on their responsibility to engender the democratic capacities of students. In this article, I draw on the wr…
Creating a “third space” in student teaching
A turn to practice
There is growing momentum in teacher education to organize the preparation of teachers around “core practices.” Advocates call for identifying discipline-oriented, research-based teaching moves associated with student learning and then shifting teacher education pedagogies and programs toward preparing beginning teachers to implement these moves in classroom and school settings. This study examines core practices as a recent reform impulse in tea…
Social studies education research for sustainable democratic societies
Social studies education and research can and must play a central role in sustaining democratic societies. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of this vital journal that aims to strengthen social studies education, democratic societies face numerous serious challenges. Although today’s circumstances are unique, many of our current challenges have existed (and will continue to exist) in some form throughout the history of democracy. In this art…
Proposing Core Practices for Social Studies Teacher Education
As states, school districts, and teachers continue to adopt the inquiry-based principles of the College, Career, and Civic (C3) Framework, social studies teacher education must engage in a concomitant instructional shift to focus its efforts on preparing inquiry-based educators. One possible approach is to organize social studies teacher education around core practices. In this study, I attempt to surface the core practices found in social studie…
The museum internship as an analogous learning space for preservice teacher education
Framing Teacher Education
This article explores the nature of a federal intervention into teacher education through state policy making and problem framing. The authors examined the 16 comprehensive educator equity plans that were approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and surface four inadequacies the reports communicate about teacher education: (a) an inability to recruit diverse candidates, (b) an unsuitable curriculum for high-needs schools, (c) limited …
Democratic Means for Democratic Ends
In light of the common mission of social studies education to prepare future democratic citizens, the field continues to be rooted in didactic and monologic practices. Finding an alibi in the current accountability movement that favors teaching about democracy instead of teaching through democracy, many social studies teachers have reneged on their responsibility to engender the democratic capacities of students. In this article, I draw on the wr…
Democratic Means for Democratic Ends
In light of the common mission of social studies education to prepare future democratic citizens, the field continues to be rooted in didactic and monologic practices. Finding an alibi in the current accountability movement that favors teaching about democracy instead of teaching through democracy, many social studies teachers have reneged on their responsibility to engender the democratic capacities of students. In this article, I draw on the wr…
Creating a “third space” in student teaching
Rethinking Social Studies Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century
Framing Teacher Education
This article explores the nature of a federal intervention into teacher education through state policy making and problem framing. The authors examined the 16 comprehensive educator equity plans that were approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and surface four inadequacies the reports communicate about teacher education: (a) an inability to recruit diverse candidates, (b) an unsuitable curriculum for high-needs schools, (c) limited …
The museum internship as an analogous learning space for preservice teacher education
A turn to practice
There is growing momentum in teacher education to organize the preparation of teachers around “core practices.” Advocates call for identifying discipline-oriented, research-based teaching moves associated with student learning and then shifting teacher education pedagogies and programs toward preparing beginning teachers to implement these moves in classroom and school settings. This study examines core practices as a recent reform impulse in tea…
Reforming the idea of social studies teacher education
Reforming the idea of social studies teacher education often stands in sharp contrast to reforming the complex landscape where it takes place. Approaching social studies teacher education reform as
Proposing Core Practices for Social Studies Teacher Education
As states, school districts, and teachers continue to adopt the inquiry-based principles of the College, Career, and Civic (C3) Framework, social studies teacher education must engage in a concomitant instructional shift to focus its efforts on preparing inquiry-based educators. One possible approach is to organize social studies teacher education around core practices. In this study, I attempt to surface the core practices found in social studie…
The rise and fall of Missouri’s performance assessment of student teachers
This article examines the adoption and abandonment of the Missouri Pre-Service Teacher Assessment (MoPTA). Our analysis draws on policy network theory to argue that the divergent rationales of Missouri’s primary teacher education policy network actors led to confusion, conflict, and disagreement, which contributed to the abandonment of the MoPTA as a policy prescription. Charting the rise and fall of Missouri’s high-stakes performance assessment …
Social studies education research for sustainable democratic societies
Social studies education and research can and must play a central role in sustaining democratic societies. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of this vital journal that aims to strengthen social studies education, democratic societies face numerous serious challenges. Although today’s circumstances are unique, many of our current challenges have existed (and will continue to exist) in some form throughout the history of democracy. In this art…
Revisiting United States v. South Carolina
This study examines how the legal arguments in United States v. South Carolina (1978) established a “rational relationship” between teaching and validated teacher licensure exams. Findings reveal that these arguments promoted racial objectivity, masked arbitrary decisions as rigorous, and reframed teacher education programs as workforce development. These precedents have perpetuated the commonsense that licensure exams are essential for ensuring …
Sociology (9 works) · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy (8 works) · Pedagogy (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Mathematics education (6 works) · Teacher education (6 works) · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences (4 works) · Social studies (4 works) · Engineering (3 works)